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Nutritionist 'sceptical' about Gwyneth Paltrow's 'Sex Dust'

If you're feeling under the weather, what do you do? Do you, like most people, reach for some orange juice and Lemsip? Cut down on midweek drinking, maybe? Or do you, like Gwyneth Paltrow, make a smoothie containing such mysterious ingredients as "sex dust"?

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According to lifestyle website Goop, owned by Paltrow, this morning smoothie is a vital part of a detox that can "reset your palate" and "give your gut a break". It contains ingredients such as ashwagandha, ho shou wu, cordyceps and "moon dust".

There's a whole range of different types of Moon Dust. If you want some pep, there's Action Dust. If you've got a hard day at work ahead of you and want to "combat mental fogginess", there's Brain Dust. Goodnight Dust helps you sleep, and Sex Dust euphemistically "ignites, excites and cultivates the sexual flow". If you want your breakfast to give you "extrasensory perceptions" then you can go for Spirit Dust.

The science

Daniel Commane, a human nutrition expert at the University of Reading told WIRED he was "rather sceptical" about the claims the being made by Goop and Moon Juice. "The products throw a lot of Chinese medicinal products together for which the evidence is primarily anecdotal," he told WIRED.

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Ho shou wu, a "herb tonic used for centuries to enhance youthfulness, reproductive function and sex drive" by Goop's reckoning, has a similar lack of scientific backing. Though stevia, another of the ingredients in the various dusts, is a "fantastic sweetener" according to Commane, there's no evidence it has health benefits.

It's a case, Commane said, of "clever marketing". "Although consuming cocoa is associated with a variety of health benefits, the effect is dependent on dose," he continued. "For now, I think I'll stick with my morning coffee and a balanced diet."